Dion Waiters and Oklahoma City Thunder unable to get contract done

Dion Waiters and the Oklahoma City Thunder were not able to get a contract done before the rookie scale extension deadline, and instead look to the offseason to reach an agreement.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have liked having guard Dion Waiters on their squad, enough to want to give him an extension on his rookie contract. Teams around the league had to get deals done with rookies before the rookie scale extension deadline on Tuesday, but the Thunder and Waiters could not reach an agreement. Instead, they look towards the offseason to get him officially back on their team.

Waiters has impressed in his first two seasons, averaging 14.7 and 15.8 points. However, the Syracuse Orange product finished last season averaging 11.8 points (12.7 as a member of the Thunder). Early this season, Waiters has been a bench playerand seen his minutes decrease, resulting in only 7.5 points per game. His usage percentage is down from 21.7 percent to 15.5 percent. Still, he’s the consensus best option at the shooting guard position, despite Andre Roberson starting above him. Roberson is only averaging 4.8 points and 0.8 assists per game.

A large reason the deal may not have been completed is that the Thunder reportedly were only interested in giving him an extension if they could get a discount. It’s likely that Waiters thought he was worth more and is deciding a hold out to the summer could be better.

Waiters, who claimed the Thunder had talent to win an NBA talent, probably wants to stick around. He seems comfortable in Oklahoma City and appears to like the culture that exists there.

He simply thinks he’s worth more than the Thunder right now. He’s got a whole season to prove himself.